Asking
by CJS-DEPPendent
Summary: My first SoM fic. It's basically what happens from the Gazeebo scene -Capt and Maria not Leisl and Rolf- onwards. Includes all characters except Franz and the Baroness, obviously Maria/Georg, hope you enjoy it, please R&R.


_**Disclaimer:**__ I __obviously__ don't own the Sound of Music, it's soundtrack or it's characters, I'm simply borrowing them for entertainment purposes..._

_**A/N:**__ Ok, so, this is my first __ever__ Sound of Music fic and I honestly have no idea wheather or not it's good... Much like Maria, "I'll need lots of advice" … Please review and tell me what you think, but, as I say in all my other fics, if you're only reviewing to flame, don't bother._

_**A/N2:** I know this is quite different to my usual POTC or CSI fics, but I hope you like it all the same...after all, it is "The Sound of Music" ..._

_Enjoy_

* * *

Asking

"_well why don't we ask-"_

"_the children?"_

After a shared chuckle, the two new found lovers spent what could have been seconds, minutes or even hours merely standing, not talking, not thinking, just revelling in the presence of the other and the knowledge that they would, one day, be man and wife.

Caressing her face, Georg was the first to break the silence "Maria…" he whispered, his mouth close to her ear

"Hm…" she hummed her response, the feeling of his warm breath on her neck making her shiver slightly.

Unsure of what he actually intended to say, Georg merely pulled his head back so that he was looking Maria in the eyes and kissed her; lightly at first but then more passionately, though gentleness was his main concern.

Just as the kiss became stronger and Maria pushed onto his body as he held her tightly, a whoosh of wind made them break apart and look out the open doors of the gazebo to the night sky.

"Looks like…" before he finished his sentence droplets of water began to fall from the immense darkness above

"…it's going to rain?" Maria finished the sentence for him with a light chuckle at the end as he looked back to her and kissed her lightly on the nose then the forehead.

"We should probably head inside before it starts pouring" he suggested, taking her hand in his. When he felt the beautiful woman he loved shiver, he realised that, at that time of night and wearing only the blue dress he so loved, she had to be cold.

"Here, my love" he said, taking off his jacket and handing it to her.

With a smile, she thanked him noticing how this was the first time she had ever seen him without his jacket on.

After another long look into his wife-to-be's eyes, Georg took a deep breath and the two set off towards the house.

Georg had been right, the grounds were "_very extensive_" especially when trying to run from the rain which poured harder by the second.

--

Happy to find Franz had still not closed the doors, Georg held the door open for Maria who, looking more beautiful than ever in his soaked army coat and dripping hair, practically ran in.

"Oh!" she said looking down at herself as a puddle formed on the floor around her and Georg who had just joined her after firmly closing the door.

Not quite sure what to say or do, Maria looked to her employer turned fiancé.

"Are you alright?" he asked lightly brushing her upper arm with his hand

Before she could answer, however, the two heard footsteps coming towards them and turned to see Frau Schmidt in her night gown, hair falling over her shoulders and looking much less proper and professional than she did during the day, approach.

"Oh, Captain, sir, it's you. I was just getting into bed and heard a noise…I wasn't sure if…" then she stopped looking at Maria as if she'd just noticed her for the first time "Oh…I…"

Maria had to understand the older woman's surprise; she would have felt the same way had it been her finding her employer and his subordinate, both drenched in rain water, she in his jacket and he in a very wet white shirt, standing close together, his hand touching her in what appeared to be an intimate gesture.

As the woman stared at them, wondering if she should mention the obvious or ignore it and continue like nothing had happened, Georg decided to be the one to take charge "I appreciate your concern, Frau Schmidt but as you can see everything quite alright" he said, a smile, something the old housekeeper still found strangely unfamiliar, playing on his face.

"Yes…I…well, goodnight, Captain, Maria" she nodded to each in turn and, still looking rather confused, left for her room once more.

_Atchoo_

Startled by the sudden sound, the captain looked to Maria and noticed her teeth were chattering and she was shaking. Looking around to make sure no one was around this time, the Captain raised his hand, this time to her face and spoke "I think we'd better get dried off"

Smiling, Maria began her journey upstairs and he quickly followed, his right hand resting lightly on her lower back.

--

Standing outside her bedroom door, neither Maria nor Georg wanted to part. She was half leaning on the door, her hand on the knob but with no intention of turning it, he was standing in front of her, his blue eyes never leaving hers.

"Fräuline Maria!" came a shriek from one of the rooms down the hall breaking the trance between the Captain and Governess.

"That's Gretl" she said with a smile looking down the hall to the door under which a strip of light had suddenly emerged.

"Yes…" he said his eyes still on her as if, were he to look away, she might vanish.

"I really should…uh…" began Maria before she met his eyes again and her resolve melted

Smiling, he stroked her face again with the back of his hand "…check on her?"

Maria merely nodded, oh how she wished she could just stay there. But she couldn't. So, accepting one last kiss from the Captain, she smiled and pulled away, making her way down the hall to where Gretl was shouting again.

--

Seeing her governess enter the room, Gretl jumped out of bed and hugged her. Stroking her girl's hear, Maria bent slightly so that she too could hug the child.

"What is it, Gretl?" she asked after a few moments "did you have a nightmare?"

The frightened girl merely nodded and, picking her up, Maria took her to the bed and sat her on her lap.

"Why don't you tell me what it was about?" she asked brushing a strand of hair from the girl's face

As Gretl was about to start, she noticed someone in the hallway and went silent. Slightly confused, Maria turned to the door to see the Cap— her fiancé standing there, leaning on the door frame, a new kind of smile illuminating his face.

Georg knew, with all his heart, that he loved Maria, but seeing here there, soaking wet, his jacket falling off one of her shoulders, his daughter hugging, he knew couldn't help a new feeling of love and admiration for the woman emerge.

"Oh, Captain, Sir" said Maria looking up at him, immediately falling back into her role as governess since she was in the presence of his children "little Gretl had a nightmare, so I…" Maria had expected him to, like her, play the part and tell her that 'bed time was to be strictly observed'. But he didn't. Instead, she found herself shocked when he moved towards them and sat down next to her, taking Gretl into his arms and rocking her back and forth while his left hand took Maria's and squeezed slightly.

--

When Maria awoke the next morning, she felt a throat ache coming on. '_Not really surprising_' she thought as she recalled the previous night and the fact that she had spent more than and hour freezing in soaking clothes.

Turning in her bed to face her wardrobe, she couldn't help smiling at the sight of the captain's jacket hanging on the door where she'd left it to dry and her wet dress hanging, through the door to the bathroom, by the tub, water still falling from it.

"_Shh_" she heard through the door and knew that at least some of the children were already up. Sighing and stretching her arms above her head, she got out of bed and proceeded to get ready noting how, for the first time since she could remember, she was actually worried about what to wear.

--

"Kurt!" Liesl half whispered when her brother, chasing Friedrich, almost knocked over a vase which would have caused a lot of noise

"Sorry!" he whispered back, steadying the object and looking frustrated as his brother got away from him.

"What are you children up to at seven in the morning?" asked Maria emerging from her door and finding Liesl, Friedrich and Kurt all huddled around a small table at the end of the corridor.

"Oh, we're sorry Fräuline" said Friedrich "we didn't mean to wake you…"

"It's quite alright, Friedrich" she replied smiling "I was already awake" then looking around, she noted the absence of four children and asked "here are your sisters?"

"They're still asleep" said Kurt looking slightly annoyed at the fact.

"Very well then, why don't you three head downstairs so as not to wake the whole family and I'll check on them?"

Once they'd agreed, Maria watched them leave and opened the door that led to Brigitta and Louisa's room. Inside she found the two girls peacefully asleep, one on her back, arms and legs splayed at her sides, the other peacefully curled around her pillow.

Closing the door, Maria moved onto the next room where, instead of just finding the two youngest girls asleep, she also found a snoring sea captain, still wearing the damp clothes from the night before, his youngest daughter curled into him.

Smiling, Maria knew she had to wake him before the girls woke and started questioning why their father was so wet. So, leaning down over him, Maria shook him slightly and whispered "Captain…Captain, you have to get up…"

Georg couldn't help the smile that appeared on his face as Maria's angelic voice infiltrated his ears and brought him back to reality.

"Umh mm…" he groaned turning slowly so as not to wake his daughter and faced Maria "Good morning…" he smiled and reached up to kiss her but was quickly stopped by her glance towards Marta's bed "oh…" he sighed smiling as he finally sat up and watched his second youngest daughter stir and open her eyes.

"Huh?" she sort of questioned as she noticed her father sitting in the bed across from hers "what are…"

"Good morning, Martha" her father greeted as he stood up and winced registering the pain in his neck that had no doubt come from spending the night in a small bed with a five year old curled into him.

"Good morning…" she said still looking slightly confused

"Well, I had better go and get changed…" he said looking at Maria and then at his damp clothes "I'll meet you all downstairs fro breakfast"

Once he was gone, Maria realized that, after he had suggested she go to bed the night before, he must haven fallen asleep. Smiling at the image she still had in her mind of the cold hearted naval captain sleeping with his little daughter in his arms, Maria went about getting Marta's clothes ready.

--

"What time did you two go to bed?" asked Maria with a slight frown when Brigitta and Louisa arrived in the sitting room quite a bit later than all the others

"Um…" began Brigitta looking at her older sister for help

"We…uh…"

Smiling, Maria shook her head "never mind…"

"Oh, Fräuline…" said Frau Schmidt entering the room "…I…uh…I was looking for the Captain…"

"He's not down yet…" said Maria and she knew her face was going red under the old Housekeeper's gaze

"Very well then, Breakfast is served, but I can keep it in the kitchen until the…"

"No, thank you, I'm here" came a male voice from the door way and everyone looked up to see the Captain, for the first time since his wife's death, not wearing his uniform.

"Good morning, Father" came a chorus from the children

"Good morning" he replied, his eyes on Maria "shall we?" he asked nodding towards the dining room.

--

Once they were all sat in their places, Georg noted that his children weren't eating "Is something wrong?" he asked looking around at them, then at Max and finally at Maria who shrugged

"Well…" began Louisa

"Shouldn't we… uh…" continued Kurt

"Wait for the Baroness?" finished Liesl looking around at how her siblings' faces fell at the mention of the woman their father had chosen to marry.

"Oh…uh…I…" began the Captain looking up, once again, at Max who looked intrigued and Maria who, after briefly meeting his eyes looked back down at her plate.

Wiping his mouth with the napkin and clearing his throat, Georg put down his knife and fork and looked up "Well…actually…"

"Is she not coming down?" asked Friedrich looking hopeful

"Is she not- feeling well?" asked Max as the children tried to hide their smiles

"Not exactly…er…she has…um…returned to Vienna…" said Georg briefly looking at Maria who looked unsure as to what to say

"But, I thought…" began Marta who was finding that whole morning to be slightly strange

Standing up, Georg slowly made his way around the table "Well, we…we called off our engagement and…" seeing how his children's faces lit up and Max's fell, Georg couldn't help smiling.

"…but…wh…" began Max but, noticing where Georg was walking to, stopped talking as realisation hit him "I can't bel…"

"So…" Friedrich cut in looking around at his brother and sisters "we _aren't_ going to have a new mother?"

"Not exactly…" said Georg who was now standing next to a still awquard Maria "You _are_ going to have a new mother…just…uh…"

Suddenly Maria realised that he wasn't sure how to break the news and, smiling up at him, she spoke "Children, what your father is trying to ask is…"

"…how would you feel about, er, Fräu—Maria becoming your new mother?" he finished the sentence and placed a hand on her shoulder squeezing lightly as she placed her hand over his.

There were a few moments of silence in which the children looked around, their smiles growing. Then, out of nowhere, all seven of them pushed their chairs back and ran to their father and Maria hugging them, smiling and talking excitedly.

"I'll take that as a yes…" laughed Georg his hand still on Maria's shoulder and the other ruffling through his youngest son's hair.

Max was still sitting where he had been before a strange sort of smile playing on his face.

"Max?" asked Georg looking at his friend "I'm still going to need a best man…" he smiled

Returning his friend's smile, Max stood and, shaking the Captain's hand said "…count me in" then, looking at Maria who was completely surrounded by children he added "congratulations…" before kissing her cheek and smiling from one lover to the other.

**Fin**

* * *

_**Thanks for reading, please review and tell me what you think…**_

_**CJS-DEPPendent**_


End file.
